Friday, April 28, 2006

Pumpkin Soup

It's not Mick Jaggers lips - it's a pumpkin called Australian Sunset. It has an usual patterned ochre coloured skin and a deep orange flesh. Spying it on offer at the market, and the change to more cooler weather, spurred me to try it out as a soup.

The difference with this version of Pumpkin soup is that the pumpkin is roasted first! One of the more finger-threatening things to do in the kitchen is remove pumpkin skin - for this recipe that danger element is eliminated. Here you'll be roasting the pumpkin pieces with the skin on - and when they are cooked, the flesh just melts away from the skin, a flat spatula or the back of the knife will easily remove the flesh.

If this pumpkin was to be part of a roast dinner, I'd prepare it in the same way, roast it a little longer to get a crisper skin and serve it skin on - it's prefectly edible.

Roasting the pumpkin for the soup encourages the natural sugars to caramelise and enriches it's flavour creating a more complex soup.

Place the pumpkin chunks into a dish and splash over with olive oil, ensuring the pieces are lightly coated before placing them on a baking tray and into a preheated 180°C/350°F oven.

Cook until softened and lightly coloured. Set aside and when cool enough to handle, scrap the flesh from the skin and set aside.

In a pot, cook the onion and garlic with a little olive oil. When softened and beginning to colour add the pumpkin flesh and the stock. Stir and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.

Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until it's smooth and creamy. Taste for seasoning and adjust and if you like, add some freshly ground nutmeg. Stir in the cream and let it gently come back to temperature.

Serve with some crusty bread or for a party idea, serve sip-sized (give the mix another burst with the blender to create a more lighter and aireated mixture before placing it in the cups)

Autumn is a great season - there's still a lot of variety in the foods you can get and the foods you want to eat.When I remember to tag, I tag. I don't think that there's any limits on what you can tag, but you probably want to stick to more general terms.